Electric guitars are sometimes manufactured with an optional vibrato unit to provide a mechanism that allows the guitarist to stretch or loosen the guitar strings while the guitar is being played. This provides a fanciful variation to the sounds of the guitar by allowing the guitar player to alter the pitch by moving the lever mechanism of the vibrato unit. In the past, if a guitar owner wanted a guitar with a vibrato unit, the owner would have to procure a guitar that was manufactured with such a vibrato.
A guitar owner may attempt to mount a vibrato unit by drilling holes in the deck of the guitar to screw on a vibrato unit. However this could affect the tone of the instrument and could also affect the structural integrity of the deck, especially in hollow bodied guitars, which have thin wooden decks. Additional holes in the guitar may also affect the value of the guitar. A guitar owner did not have a commercially available option to effectively add such a vibrato mechanism to an existing electric guitar.
On an ordinary guitar, the strings are held in place on the face of the guitar at the tailpiece. To retrofit a vibrato unit onto an electric guitar, the existing tailpiece, aft of the bridge, must be removed to accommodate the installation. This because the vibrato unit would then serve to hold in place the end of the strings. The removal of the tailpiece typically leaves either mounting bolts sticking up from the face of the guitar or holes in the deck. This is cosmetically degrading and affects the value of the guitar.
Also, the substitution of the vibrato unit for the tailpiece typically alters the length of the strings between the bridge and the terminal attachment point. For hollow bodied guitars, the length of the strings is greater with the vibrato unit than with the tailpiece. The strings also approach the bridge from there connection with the vibrato at a lesser angle than with the tailpiece. This results in lesser down force or tension, which further results in problems keeping the strings in place on the bridge when the vibrato unit is activated. It also affects the action of the strings at the neck. The lesser angle further provides problems retaining the stings on the bridge when the guitar is being played. The present invention provides a means for maintaining the proper tension on the strings with the proper angle as well.
Additionally, the removal of the tailpiece leaves either an unsightly set of holes or studs on the face of the guitar where the tailpiece was connected. Leaving holes in the guitar face will alter the tone of the instrument as well as provide an unsightly guitar.
Therefore, there exists a need to create a device that would allow the retrofitting of a vibrato mechanism to an electric guitar that provides downward tension on the strings and utilizes the former connection method of the discarded tailpiece.